It was a funny movie but not what I’m going to ask about.
It’s been noted that model railroaders typically have other mechanical interests beyond trains. Pretty obvious on this site with some of the screennames like CudaKen and Chevellessguy. So a couple questions come to mind: What is your other poison? Do you think it affects your layout designs, operations, or some other facet of this hobby?
For me it’s 70’s vintage cars and trucks, the stuff that was around when I was a kid. I tried hotrodding but just thought it was too much work with little reward so I switched to more of restoration mode with just a few modern touches for the sake of useability.
Has this been reflected in my layout (well coming layout)? Absolutely. I’m modeling the PC in the early 70’s and plan to include a slot car track on the layout. There’s going to be plenty of road/rail crosings to make operations a bit more challenging and I get to run some vintage slot cars. Not only 70’s looking but some from the 70’s. Sure they are out of proportion but thats a compromise I’m willing to live with. I think it adds some operating diversity, slow trains or fast cars which am I in the mood for tonight? Getting into the mechanical aspect of layout construction one could use automotive light bulbs for some applications, old car parts make very interesting loads and everyone has used old wheel weights for bringing rolling stock into spec.
My passion for Flight Simulator actually got me back into Model Railroading, in an indirect way. I was really hooked on it - the flight yoke and pedals hooked up to the computer, internet connection for real-world weather, building my own virtual scenery and so on. I spent hours in front of the screen every night.
My wife thought this was unhealthy, so she suggested that I bring out the trains from the attic and set them up. She expected a little 4x4 loop around the Christmas tree, I think. Little did she know that one all-consuming passion would lead to another.
As for cars, well, if Saint Peter meets me at the Pearly Gates with the keys to my 75 MGB, which is long gone, by the way, I’ll know I’m in heaven. If, on the other hand, it’s that yellow Sunbird wagon, then I’ll know I’m headed for the hot basement instead.
Ruderunner, well my love for old HP cars have spilled on to the train layout.
Funny part with me knowing cars, my cut off point is 1971.But there is no cut off point on Engines and Rolling stock.
Far as the slot cars and trains, I have not hear good things about the slot car and train intersection sections. I have 300 feet of slot car track boxed up. in fact that how I got into trains. I was looking for HO scale tress and buildings for my slot car’s when I came across what at the time looked like a great deal. Bought my first train set with track for $35.00. Turned out to be a cheap Life Like set, but the hook was set!
My passion is sailing. But sadly around here in the Pacific Northwest it is a summer only hobby and now that I live about 20 miles for the marnia, it is weekend only hobby if the wind is good. If anything I think MRR has affected my sailing some. I sail mostly on Columbia River and on the Washington side of the river is a BSNF track and now I spend more time watching the trains go by than watching where I am sailing too.
Let’s see now. For me, my other passion would be blown-up military tanks (all enemy tanks) and anything old and rusty.
Do these have influence on my layout? Well, I don’t have a layout yet, but I do have a temporary shelf diorama, which is a huge junkyard essentially.
Most of my locomotives and rolling stock turn into rust buckets during wethering, too (not to worry, it’s acryllic, and I can un-do the rust if needed)
I also model abandoned factories for that diorama. Lots of rusty stuff in them, too, including a boioler and various machinery.
I havn’t tried wheel weaghts or any other auto part, yet, though.
Trains? Grew up riding the front ends of NYC rapid-transit rail vehicles, and rode a few longer-distance trains. The I was stationed in Japan almost continuously from the late '50s until 1970. Railfan heaven. The best part was that, once again, I could see out the front windows of EMU and DMU trains. Thanks to very affordable fares, I spent my spare time riding all over. In the process I discovered the Upper Kiso Valley. The rest is history.
Planes? I spent altogether too many years bending wrenches on Sam’s flying fleet. Like working on prototype railroads, there is precious little ‘romance’ to be found on a flight line. Toward the end of my career I was involved in bringing the Air Force’s latest and greatest to my then-home AFB. When the first one arrived and was pulled into the nose dock, I went out and took a good look at this alleged wundermaschin. There was a drip pan under the one open engine bay, some telltale red seeps around the underside of the wing and a sticky deposit along the ram strut of one hydraulic actuator. I went back to the project office and was met by the project officer (a supply type who always flew a desk.) To his enthusiastic, “Well, Sarge, whaddya think?” I answered, honestly, “Flying fuel, oil and hydraulic leak, just like all the other planes I’ve worked on.” I don’t think he was pleased with me.
Automobiles? Since I grew up in New York City, automobiles weren’t part of my adolescence. I was married before I ever got a driver’s license, and, to this day, I consider my personal wheels mostly as a necessary nuisance. OTOH, since I have a maintenance background, I’m in the habit of keeping my vehicles for a long time, and fixing things when they decide not to work. I don’t care if my wife’s nine-year-old SUV and my 17-year-old pickup are pretty, just as long as they’re dependable.&nb
My time is spent mostly doing college homework, but that will come to an end in December when I complete my Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources/Management.
My other hobbies include watching movies, taking small road trips, and fishing. Interestingly enough, I got to go to drive-in theater last summer and it was awesome. Sadly that theater caught on fire, and there may be a good chance of rebuilding.
As for taking road trips, I like to take day trips with friends. We usually go shopping or out to eat.
My main passion is my Harley Ultra Classic so model railroading takes a back seat in good weather. I also collect toy tractors from the '30s, 40s and 50s as well as Harley collectables and misc. autos. My family won’t inherit much cash but should have a fun estate sale!
As far as modeling goes, I also build model rockets and paint miniature figures, both historical and fantasy.
But I also refurbish steam locomotives – real ones. As a Friend of the Valley Railroad, I have helped restore a Porter 0-6-0T (cosmetic only) and am helping to restore a Chinese Mikado, transforming it into NH #3025 (the historical Mikado roster stopped at #3024).
I also host caboose excursions from time to time. The smell of steam and hot iron, and cinders in your face. Doesn’t get much better.
Some of my other interests have been Show Cars and I ran my own Auto Maching Shop for 14 years.
When that no longer was fun I worked as a Quality Control Manager, in the building trades for 10 years.
All the while I was into model railroading and I guess the need to have everything built to close tolerances in the maching business has carried over into my modeling, as did the Quality Control thing.
While I am not really into building locos & cars - I wanted my layout to run the best it could. I am into OPs as I felt that this was the only reason to build a layout so trackwork and DCC are my main points.
The layout is 10 years old and is over 2500 sq ft. I am building the layout pretty much myself so it is taking a while to get things done but Operations is the whole purpose of the layout.
I have twice monthly OPs sessions while I continue working on the layout. This keeps me moving ahead as the 2 week schedule requires that I make improvements that my crew can see.
I am now retired and into rebuilding Cub Cadet lawn tractors, Computers and Model Railroading.
My education was to be a shop teacher, and my hobbies sort of reflect that. They include this street custom '62 bug (when I got it, it was being used as a doghouse):
I also build fine furniture:
and a dollhouse (and its decor).
I also do a lot of home improvements.
The dollhouse was really how I returned to model railroading after a 20+ year hiatus - I found myself with a lot of the tools I’d need to do trains again, and when the dollhouse was done it seemed natural to go back to my first love - trains.
My other hobby is old cars. I’ve got a 1955 Olds that was a father and son project. The son lost interest. I’ve also got a 1967 Plymouth Satellite. The daugther and I built a layout back in the mid 70’s. The son never got into the trains. The son and I got into R/C cars in the 80’s. I was racing two or three nights a week. It got expensive to stay competative so we dropped out after a couple years. Got into factory stock oval racing with a group of friends for about 5 years. Now it’s trains and computers in the winter and cars in the summer.
I got another hobby that slipped my mind untill now: Fire trucks.
I build scale models of them, but I hope to get a real one soon.
It has influenced part of my layout design: I’ve included a fire truck manufacturing plant, and when I get the scale drawings and materials sized up, I’m going to have a few engines, rescue trucks, and mabe a Tiller lader or two, ready for delivery
[Yes, I’m eventually going to install a building on fire]
For me there are two seasons, train season and golf season, with little overlap between the two. It’s not as if I wouldn’t like to do both. I just can’t find the time for both. Weather dictates when golf season begins and ends which means it also dictates when train season begins and ends. Here in Ohio, golf season probably has another month to go. I’ve just started dabbling with the layout but there’s no way I will take on a major project until the clubs get put away. Then it will be train season and the serious modeling will begin.
